196 PAPERS RELATING TO NATURAL HISTORY. 



by this assertion: That though the theory of the origin of petroleum from 

 marine vegetables is not yet supported by direct experiments and conclusire 

 proofs, the reasons in favor of it are weighty enough to merit due consideration. 

 The more so, that if recognized as true, the theory presents an important 

 chapter of the history of petroleum, and may prove of great value in its appli- 

 cation." 



We pass next to some productions of Dr. W. Lauder Lindsay, from 

 the proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Edinburgh 

 New Philosophical Journal, and other sources. We can only name a 

 paper on the Tertiary coals of New Zealand ; but we cannot name it 

 without praise as a concise', yet full, clear, and well arranged summary 

 of information on its subject. Of more general interest and in more 

 immediate relation with our condition, as a great Colonial Govern- 

 ment, is the essay entitled " The place and power of Natural History 

 in Colonization, with special reference to Otago (New Zealand)," 

 which is an excellent exposition of the practical value of the several 

 branches of Natural Science in a newly settled country; the evils that 

 may arise from ignorance, and the agencies by which knowledge may 

 be collected and diffused; which, therefore, should be put in operation 

 by a wise government ; not because such knowledge is in itself inte- 

 resting, ennobling, and deserving of cultivation, but on account of the 

 practical benefits having a direct money value, which it confers on a 

 community. Our statesmen would do well to consider such views, 

 and an intelligent public ought not to disregard them. We have, 

 perhaps, advanced beyond the need of some of the suggestions offered ; 

 but there are others well deserving of consideration ; as, for example, 

 the public importance of a botanic garden : and that not merely as a 

 laseful aid in College botanical instruction, but with a view to the im- 

 provement of society at large, and the diffusion of much important 

 practical knowledge. 



Dr. W. Lauder Lindsay is eminently a practical naturalist as 

 well as a man of real science. Among the subjects which he has 

 ably treated, we find "The Dyeing Properties of Lichens;" 

 " Economical Applications of British Lichens ; " " Substitutes for 

 Paper Material ; " " Botany, in its Applications to Common Life ; " 

 and (which we wish could meet with due attention here), Illustrations 

 of the Value " Of a Knowledge of Vegetable Histology to the Medi- 

 cal Student and Practitioner." One of these subjects, which is of 

 very great public interest, forms the subject of a popular lecture de- 

 livered with great success at Perth, and elsewhere, the syllabus of 



